Morrison breaks bat on wall, needs 5 stitches

Logan Morrison was clearly irritated at himself and the result. And he’ll have the scar to prove it.

With the Mariners trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning Sunday, Morrison popped up to shortstop with one out and runners on first and second. The squandered opportunity left him seething as he stalked back to the dugout — bat in hand.

Moments later, teammate Kyle Seager picked him up with a double to score the runners and give Seattle a lead it would never relinquish.

When the Mariners came back on the field, Morrison did not jog to first base. Instead, backup catcher John Buck, who had never played first base in a major-league game, trotted out to the position.

The official announcement in the press box came minutes later, stating that he’d suffered a laceration to his forehead. Not exactly a typical injury considering the circumstances.

Manager Lloyd McClendon had no idea what happened.

“He had to receive five stitches,” McClendon said postgame. “So he obviously couldn’t go back out there.”

Morrison appeared in the clubhouse after the game with a nasty green and purple knot above his lefty eye. He looked like a UFC fighter.

“I got into a fight with my bat,” he said.

By appearances, he lost that fight.

“You should’ve seen the other guy,” he joked.

In his anger, Morrison slammed the bat against the wall inside the dugout. The force shattered the maple bat and a piece of it broke off and came back at him, striking him above the eye.

“Obviously I acted like a 3-year-old,” he said. “I apologized to my teammates. I’m about to go apologize to Mac. I can’t do that. I didn’t want to come out of the game. They saw me gushing blood from my eyebrow and they took me out. I’m embarrassed. No matter how bad I’m playing, I can’t do that.”

Morrison’s failure to come up with the key hit when needed for a Mariners team that is struggling offensively set him off.

“I usually don’t snap,” he said. “I usually don’t play this bad, either. But I usually don’t snap.”

Morrison’s outburst allowed Buck to play first base for the first time.

“I played it in the minor leagues,” Buck said.

“He played two innings!” hollered first baseman Justin Smoak as Buck was being interviewed.

Buck’s reply: “They know a good one when they see it.”

The experience wasn’t completely foreign to Buck. Before every game he takes ground balls at third base and first base during batting practice. He also partakes during infield workouts under the supervision of infield coach Chris Woodward.

McClendon felt more comfortable to go with Buck instead of the recently called up Jesus Montero, who has been converting to first base. Montero has played in 42 games at first base this season, committing nine errors.

Notes

• McClendon said Corey Hart (strained hamstring), Smoak (strained quad) and Michael Saunders (shoulder inflammation) could all start playing in rehab games by the end of the week.

• The Mariners had 13 hits. It’s the fifth time this season they’ve banged out at least 13 hits.

• With his 4 for 4, two doubles, three RBI performance, Kyle Seager is now hitting .396 (19 for 48) with three doubles, three homers and nine RBI against the Rangers this season with six multihit games.

• Brad Snyder of the Rangers hit his first MLB home run — a solo blast off Hisashi Iwakuma in the second inning. Snyder, 32, played in 1,246 minor-league games over 12 seasons.